Premium market picks up speed
Confidence may be returning to the premium property market on the back of strengthening economic conditions, the owner of a major real estate agency has said.
The latest RP Data Rismark Home Value Index reported the premium market showed higher capital gains than the the middle or more affordable housing sectors.
Dwelling values for the most expensive market segment rose by 6.7 per cent over the past six months, compared to 5.8 per cent for the mid-market and 4.7 per cent at the lower end of the price range.
Century21 owner Charles Tarbey said this trend may be linked to an uptick in other economic conditions.
“Upward movement in the premium property segment tends to be linked to an improvement in confidence in equity markets and the wider economy,” he said.
The director of Century21 Synergy Angelo Lofitis said demand for premium property in the inner west appeared to be on the rise.
In addition, he said high demand in the market was pushing previously mid-priced homes into the premium market.
“Many homeowners have been catapulted to the status of millionaires as far as their assets are concerned,” he said.
In particular, he suggested the light rail project was boosting prices in the Dulwich Hill area.
“The light rail has made the inner-west property market even more attractive and many residents could be forgiven for thinking they are now sitting on, or living within, a goldmine, with median property prices in some inner-west suburbs doubling in less than a year,” he said.